Corvette News and Currents - November 2014

On June 25, 2014, the National Corvette Museum Board of Directors met to discuss and decide the future of the sinkhole in the Skydome building.

Three primary options were presented:

1) Fill in the sinkhole and replace the floor so that the building is much like it was previously;
2) Keep the entire sinkhole as is;
3) Keep a smaller portion of the hole open for visitors. There were 14 of the 16 board members present and they decided to move forward with option number three. The idea is that an opening approximately 45x25 feet (and 30-feet deep) would be left so that museum visitors can see into a portion of the cave. The opening could have some existing ground and rock face, and a dirt embankment where one or two of the cars could be placed for display.

Each board member expressed how the decision was not about them or what they thought but rather what is best for the Museum, and what most of the members and visitors would want. "I have a responsibility to represent the people who sent me here. We all do for our geographic areas," said a board member. "My own personal opinion changed as time went on. I come here today with my marching orders from my members. About two thirds of my organization says to leave it open in some form or fashion," he added.

Mike Murphy, CEO of Scott, Murphy and Daniel Construction, was on hand to answer questions and provide his feedback on the proposals. "You come in and you have all these displays of the history and life of Corvette, and then you come into the Skydome to see this new part of history," said Murphy. "I think it will always be a part of history, but will the increased attendance continue? I don't know, but it will always be of high interest."

Christy Thomas, CFO for the Museum, shared that an estimate had been provided for filling in Option 3's small, remaining portion of the sinkhole should the Museum decide end the exhibit at a later date. "If the interest in the exhibit wanes, or if down the road we decided that we don't want the hole any longer there is always an option to put the room back how it was," Thomas said.

"We have to look at creative ways to generate interest in the Museum. It would be so much easier to just be a regular automotive museum with our Corvettes on display, but we have to think outside the box," said Executive Director Wendell Strode. For more information on the Museum, visit their website at www.corvettemuseum.org or call 800-538-3883.

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Photos by ADAC

Double Corvette Victory!

A Callaway Competition GT3 Corvette driven by Daniel Keilwitz and Oliver Gavin won both weekend ADAC GT Master races at the Red Bull Ring in Austria. The ADAC GT Masters is one of the most competitive GT racing series in Europe. Sixteen races are held each year over eight weekends in this series that starts in April and ends in October. The series visits three countries: Holland, Austria, and Germany and offers drivers an opportunity to showcase their talents on live TV. The competition is fierce as evidenced by the Red Bull Ring's qualifying results. For Race 1 Oliver Gavin qualified the No 1 Corvette on pole with a 1:30.484 and co-driver Daniel Keilwitz took pole position for Race 2 with a time of 1:30.272. The top 14 qualifiers were separated by just 0.964 seconds!

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Corvette factory C7.R driver Oliver Gavin (left) and Daniel Keilwitz are all smiles after winning both of the ADAC GT Masters weekend races.

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